Sir Karl Jenkins conducts World Orchestra for Peace in epic world premiere with hundreds of musicians

16 November 2023, 16:10 | Updated: 18 March 2026, 13:11

SIR KARL JENKINS' ONE WORLD - PREMIERE LIVESTREAM - GIFT OF THE WORLD ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE ARCHIVE

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

The huge-scale musical feat, which sees Sir Karl Jenkins premiere his ‘One World’, is 2023’s designated UNESCO Concert for Peace.

Sir Karl Jenkins conducted hundreds of musicians and singers from 47 countries, in a performance of epic proportions for the 2023 UNESCO Concert for Peace.

Over 700 performers from the World Orchestra for Peace, World Choir for Peace, Hard Chor Linz, Choir of the Musische BORG Linz, singers from the state youth choirs of Austria and 46 other countries, and the Stay At Home Choir, joined together in music – the first time such a feat has been undertaken for a world premiere of a choral work under the baton of its composer.

The 270 singers from the Stay At Home Choir joined virtually with synchronised AV projection, forming a spectacular visual accompaniment to the music-making in the room.

Together, all joined to perform the Welsh maestro’s new choral masterpiece One World at Austria’s Brucknerhaus, Linz. And in the spirit of the work, Sir Karl and all the performers gave their musical services for free.

The archival recording of the concert has been viewed by over a quarter of a million people and is now available worldwide via YouTube (watch above).

The performance also featured star soloists, soprano Ruby Hughes, as well as mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge and baritone Roderick Williams, who both featured on the One World recording which reached No.1 in the UK classical chart.

Sir Karl, who is one of the world’s most performed living composers, said of his work: “The title of one movement from ‘One World’ encapsulates what the project is all about; Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for ‘repair the world’.

“The work for choir and orchestra heralds a vision of a peaceful and egalitarian planet that treats nature and ecological issues with respect and where human rights are universal. Where truth is truth and news is never ‘fake’, where leaders do not lie, transparency is a given and all faiths live together in peace.”

The work addresses a fractured world, while projecting a vision of a peaceful and egalitarian planet.

Jenkins incorporates elements of different cultures and religions and draws inspiration from texts including the Bible and the Hindu Gayatri Mantra, as well as works by English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lebanese-American author Khalil Gibran and librettist Carol Barratt.

Read more: Watch as Sir Karl Jenkins conducts a virtual mass singalong of ‘The Armed Man’

One World was co-commissioned by the World Orchestra for Peace and the World Choir for Peace and is dedicated to UNESCO. The World Orchestra for Peace was founded by conductor Sir Georg Solti and director Charles Kaye in 1995 for a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

In more than 35 concerts since then, over 800 leading orchestral players from 125 orchestras in 72 countries have come together to experience and convey their belief in “the unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace”.

The orchestra were designated UNESCO Artists for Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors, alongside the likes of Sarah Brightman, Renaud Capuçon and Shirley Bassey, in 2010.

The World Choir for Peace was founded in 2018 by artistic director Nicol Matt, who brought together a chorus of over 2000 to sing with the World Orchestra for Peace under the baton of Sir Karl Jenkins in Berlin for a concert of his Armed Man (‘A Mass for Peace’), commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War.

CLICK HERE to view the full programme booklet.